Essential Free Software for Your New Computer

DVDShrink

Photo by NightRPStar

How do you turn a 4.6 Gigabyte movie file into 700 megabytes quickly and without losing quality? DVDShrink. This gem of a freeware program allows anyone to rip the contents of a DVD onto their hard drive–and it even allows scanning of the DVD to pick just the scenes you want.

Thinking of making a compilation of the greatest concerned faces of Nicholas Cage? DVDShrink has your answer.

Skype

This, along with StumbleUpon, probably fits into the upper echelons of Obviousness when it comes to installing new software on your new computer. But just in case anyone out there isn’t up to speed, Skype is THE method of non-textual communication for anyone overseas and especially for anyone wishing to video chat.

Of course, Apple’s iChat, AOL Instant Messanger, and even Google Chat work fine with video, but Skype is the do-it-all communication headquarters that will even allow you to call landlines and mobile phones for a super cheap fee (2 cents/min).

DAEMON Tools

Most new computers come equipped with some variant of virtual disk mounting, but from my own experience, its best to use an industry-standard third party over the software you manufacturer happened to include (as with Web Browsers).

Photo by Dmitry Valberg

If you’re unfamiliar with DAEMON Tools and virtual disk mounting, the technique essentially allows you to create an infinite number of “virtual drives”. It tricks your computer into thinking there’s another optical (CD-Rom) drive attached to your CPU, and “mounts” a disk file (often with an .iso extension) upon it, allowing you to run CD-based programs straight from your hard drive.

Gimp

Gimp is the free, open-source answer to Adobe Photoshop – or any other imaging software. It’s easy enough to use for simple photo retouching or idle scribbling, and powerful enough for professional-grade image manipulation.

It’s entirely free, so if you’re interested in dipping your toes into the waters of digital imaging – or just looking for a free alternative to an otherwise expensive endeavor – give Gimp a try.

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